Here are a couple of Christmas stories for your reading pleasure. I didn’t write either of them, but enjoy both of the. The first story, doesn’t have a title as far as I know, it is from fellow author Janet Brown‘s blog, she received it from her daughter who had received it in an email. As Janet said on her blog, many of you may have received and read the story. It’s such a sweet story she posted it for those of us who hadn’t read it, and I’m paying it forward. Enjoy.

The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned to their first ministry, to reopen a church In suburban Brooklyn, arrived in early October excited about their opportunities. When they saw Their church, it was very run down and needed much work. They set a goal to have everything done in time to have their first service on Christmas Eve.

They worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls, painting, etc, and on December 18 were ahead of schedule and just about finished. On December 19 a terrible tempest – a driving rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.

On the 21st, the pastor went over to the church, his heart sank when he saw that the roof had leaked, causing a large area of plaster about 20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit, beginning about head high.

The pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor, and not knowing what else to do but postpone the Christmas Eve service, headed home. On the way he noticed that a local business was having a flea market type sale for charity, so he stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful, handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth
with exquisite work, fine colors and a cross embroidered right in the center. It was just the right size to cover the hole in the front wall. He bought it and headed back to the church.

By this time it had started to snow. An older woman running from the opposite direction was trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor invited her to wait in the warm church for the next bus 45 minutes later.

She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.

Then he noticed the woman walking down the center aisle. Her face was like a sheet. “Pastor,” she asked, “where did you get that tablecloth?” The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into It there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .

The woman could hardly believe it as the pastor told how he had just gotten “The Tablecloth”. The woman explained that before the war she and her husband were well-to-do people in Austria .

When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave. Her husband was going to follow her the next week. He was captured, sent to prison and she never saw her husband or her home again.

The pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth; but she made the pastor keep it for the church. The pastor insisted on driving her home. That was the least he could do. She lived on the other side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn for the day for a housecleaning job.

What a wonderful service they had on Christmas Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the Spirit were great. At the end of the service, the Pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door and many said that they would return.

One older man, whom the pastor recognized from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he wasn’t leaving.

The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on the front wall because it was identical to one that his wife had made years ago when they lived in Austria before the war and how could there be two tablecloths so much alike?

He told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and put in a prison. He never saw his wife or his home again all the 35 years between.

The pastor asked him if he would allow him to take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten Island and to the same house where the pastor had taken the woman three days earlier.

He helped the man climb the three flights of stairs to the woman’s apartment, knocked on the door and he saw the greatest Christmas reunion he could ever imagine.

True Story – submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
who says God does work in mysterious ways.

This second story is actually a poem by Helen Steiner Rice. I first heard it, years ago, performed by Grandpa Jones. You can hear it here. You can find more of her poems, here.

The Christmas Guest

It happened one day at the year’s white end,
Two neighbors called on an old-time friend

And they found his shop so meager and mean,
Made gay with a thousand boughs of green,

And Conrad was sitting with face a-shine
When he suddenly stopped as he stitched a twine

And said, “Old friends, at dawn today,
When the cock was crowing the night away,

The Lord appeared in a dream to me
And said, ‘I am coming your guest to be’.

So I’ve been busy with feet astir,
Strewing my shop with branches of fir,

The table is spread and the kettle is shined
And over the rafters the holly is twined,

And now I will wait for my Lord to appear
And listen closely so I will hear

His step as He nears my humble place,
And I open the door and look in His face. . .”

So his friends went home and left Conrad alone,
For this was the happiest day he had known,

For, long since, his family had passed away
And Conrad has spent a sad Christmas Day.

But he knew with the Lord as his Christmas guest
This Christmas would be the dearest and best,

And he listened with only joy in his heart.
And with every sound he would rise with a start

And look for the Lord to be standing there
In answer to his earnest prayer

So he ran to the window after hearing a sound,
But all that he saw on the snow-covered ground

Was a shabby beggar whose shoes were torn
And all of his clothes were ragged and worn.

So Conrad was touched and went to the door
And he said, “Your feet must be frozen and sore,

And I have some shoes in my shop for you
And a coat that will keep you warmer, too.”

So with grateful heart the man went away,
But as Conrad noticed the time of day

He wondered what made the dear Lord so late
And how much longer he’d have to wait,

When he heard a knock and ran to the door,
But it was only a stranger once more,

A bent, old crone with a shawl of black,
A bundle of faggots piled on her back.

She asked for only a place to rest,
But that was reserved for Conrad’s Great Guest.

Frustrated. Upset. Cranky. That was me yesterday when I ran out of gas, and it was all my fault.

I knew I needed gas. I’d hoped I could make it to the first small town between the highway and my house. Made it, no problem. Forgot to stop and get gas. Big problem. Car stopped about a mile later.

Now, there were people I could call for help. Except, they were mostly men, and I didn’t want to deal with the eye rolling and the lecture about adding gas when the needle was on E. I KNEW that, I just forgot to stop. The other problem was everyone I knew was at least an hour away. I hated to have someone drive two hours (round trip) just because of my stupidity.

Nothing to do but walk back to the small town and hope they had a container I could put gas in. This is when the miracles started.

Miracle 1 – The temperature was below 100 degrees, the first time in days. I wouldn’t have heat stroke making the mile long trek.

Miracle 2 – A nursing student, Amanda, was on her way home from class and she took the chance on stopping for a stranger.

Miracle 3 – The gas station didn’t have a container, but one of the customers had an extra one she offered us. We thanked her, filled the container with gas which was then poured in my car. Yay. Amanda and I each proceeded to our homes, in separate directions.

Miracle 4 – I’d planned for my Tuesday posts to be short interviews with either a quilter or author and I forgot to line one up for today. There was nothing to post. Wait a minute, I could post about my little miracles. Maybe other people need to be reminded of the little miracles they experience. So, here it is.

What about you? Have you experienced or seen a little miracle lately? Did you recognize it for a miracle? Want to share?